WINTER 2008 PRE-COLLEGE RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM - Student ...

THE EFFECT OF SOLAR INSOLATION ON GLOBAL WARMING
Julyannette O’Neill, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Nicole Serrano, Berwind High School, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Mentors: Dr. César Bandera, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey;
Daniel Carrión, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Assistant: Carlos C. Rivera and Carlos Ortiz, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan
Puerto Rico.
The purpose of this study was the effect of global warming, one of the main subjects of dispute in
the science community all over the world. It is suspected that solar insolation affects global
warming. The Sun emits energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. The amount of
electromagnetic radiation received on the Earth is controlled by the angle of inclination of its
axis, the state of the atmosphere, altitude, and geographic location. Human activities are
responsible for most of the global warming and contribute by enhancing Earth's natural
greenhouse effect. The software Movie Maker was used as a tool for this investigation to display
the amount of electromagnetic energy (solar radiation) on the surface of the earth. The data used
was collected by the NASA TERRA satellite. Because different scientific groups believe the
Earth is getting warmer, due to a Sun’s brightness increase, and others believe the greenhouse
effect could be the cause, this makes an interesting issue for research.
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE SNOW COVER AND ICE EXTENT
Andrea Jiménez and Sarielis Carrasquillo, Bautista de Puerto Nuevo Academy, San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
Research Mentors: Dr. César Bandera, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey;
Daniel Carrión, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Research Assistant: Carlos C. Rivera and Carlos Ortiz, Universidad Metropolitana, San Juan
Puerto Rico.
The purpose was to investigate the changes in snow cover and sea ice extent in the Northern
Hemisphere over time. These are caused by the changes in temperature each year. In this
investigation project, the topic chosen was Snow cover and Sea Ice Extent. Snow cover has an
influence on energy due to a vast amount of sunlight that hits the snow and is reflected back into
space instead of warming the planet. To demonstrate these changes and describe them, a video
clip was put together using Windows Movie Maker along with information gathered from
different resources including the NASA website. The video’s purpose was to project the images
onto the Global Microscope. This would show the images in a three-dimensional perspective. The
study outcome revealed that the snow cover and sea ice extent did not change much over time and
the average temperature rate during the ten-year time period was 36°.
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